Problems with iMac G5 shutting down.
Hey everyone,
we bought out iMac G5 in January this year. It's the 17" 1.8Ghz model and we've since upgraded it to 1.25GB of RAM (very speedy).
The computer has been great ALL the time while it's running, but very occasionally it has problems when i shut down.....
i first noticed this a while ago when we had OS 10.3.something installed (whatever it shipped with). I assumed it was just a one of thing and so didn't worry about it.
Since i've upgraded to 10.4 i saw it happening MUCH more often! Now im on 10.4.1 and it's happening less often, maybe 1 in 15 shutdowns. But it seems to be completely random.
<b>The Problem:</b>
When i tell the computer to 'Shut Down...' it will fade out to the blue screen as per usual, but instead of just tunring off, the screen will then be covered from top to bottom in a slightly different shade of blue and a grey box pops up in the centre of the screen. It has a message that is in about 4 languaged and reads something like: "Your Mac needs to be restarted. Hold down the power (or restart) button until it restarts."
The iMac G5 doesnt have a Restart button so i hold down the power button for 5 seconds or so. This doesnt restart the computer like the message says, it just turns it off.
Next time i log in it comes up with something like "OS X crashed unexpectedly last time you shut down." Then it give me the button options "Report To Apple..." or "Ok".
I've reported it to Apple several times and have had no replies and heard no news. Nothing.
The problem isn't that bad when im hear to turn it off, but if i leave it on during the night and tell it to turn itself off there is no guarantee that it will do so!
Previously i've heard people refer to my problem as a 'Kernal Error'. What on earth is that? has any one else here had similar problems?
I plan to contact my local Apple centre soon, but thought i'd see if anyone could shed some light on the problem.
Thanks all!
we bought out iMac G5 in January this year. It's the 17" 1.8Ghz model and we've since upgraded it to 1.25GB of RAM (very speedy).
The computer has been great ALL the time while it's running, but very occasionally it has problems when i shut down.....
i first noticed this a while ago when we had OS 10.3.something installed (whatever it shipped with). I assumed it was just a one of thing and so didn't worry about it.
Since i've upgraded to 10.4 i saw it happening MUCH more often! Now im on 10.4.1 and it's happening less often, maybe 1 in 15 shutdowns. But it seems to be completely random.
<b>The Problem:</b>
When i tell the computer to 'Shut Down...' it will fade out to the blue screen as per usual, but instead of just tunring off, the screen will then be covered from top to bottom in a slightly different shade of blue and a grey box pops up in the centre of the screen. It has a message that is in about 4 languaged and reads something like: "Your Mac needs to be restarted. Hold down the power (or restart) button until it restarts."
The iMac G5 doesnt have a Restart button so i hold down the power button for 5 seconds or so. This doesnt restart the computer like the message says, it just turns it off.
Next time i log in it comes up with something like "OS X crashed unexpectedly last time you shut down." Then it give me the button options "Report To Apple..." or "Ok".
I've reported it to Apple several times and have had no replies and heard no news. Nothing.
The problem isn't that bad when im hear to turn it off, but if i leave it on during the night and tell it to turn itself off there is no guarantee that it will do so!
Previously i've heard people refer to my problem as a 'Kernal Error'. What on earth is that? has any one else here had similar problems?
I plan to contact my local Apple centre soon, but thought i'd see if anyone could shed some light on the problem.
Thanks all!
Comments
Have you repaired permissions lately? I would try that.
Here's what Disk Utilities told me after i'd repaired the permissions:
Repairing permissions for ?Macintosh HD?
Determining correct file permissions.
We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./Library/Widgets. New permissions are 16877
Permissions differ on ./private/var/log/secure.log, should be -rw------- , they are -rw-r-----
Owner and group corrected on ./private/var/log/secure.log
Permissions corrected on ./private/var/log/secure.log
Permissions repair complete
The privileges have been verified or repaired on the selected volume
Also, i've just noticed that Disk Utility says to start up from your Mac OS X disc when repairing permissions on your Start Up Disk. My internal HD is my Start Up disk so should i go and dig out the OS X CD?
Also, i have OS 10.4 installed, but ive only got instant access to my OS 10.3 install CD. Would this matter at all?
Originally posted by spiers69
Also, i have OS 10.4 installed, but ive only got instant access to my OS 10.3 install CD. Would this matter at all?
I don't know (probably yes), but since you are having kernel panics, I would suggest to run the Hardware Test that comes with the computer (I am not aware of kernel panic incidents because of wrong permissions). It may reveal some faulty component. The Hardware Test comes in a separate CD I think.
You can also look for the kernel panic log and post it here. To find it you just launch the Console (from the /Applications/Utilities folder), click on the "Logs" pane and then reveal the /Library/Logs content by clicking the corresponding triangle. There should be some "panic.log" file listed. Post its content here to see if there is something obvious.
you WON'T here back from Apple when you send that "response" to them (they do get the info though).
that same thing was happening with my iMac occassionally (very rarely, as it only gets shut off about once a week anyway.) ... other problems forced it to have the logic board replaced (under warranty, thank god.) and I haven't seen the shutdown problem since.
Next time it happens should i straight away check here?
Also, i've had the Kernal Panic happen 3 times in two days now! It's happening more often.
Im going to try the Hardware Test.
This means that the problem definitely isn't with the computer, right? And it must be a software problem?
Originally posted by KingOfSomewhereHot
did you do the LONG version of the Hardware test ?
How do you do the long version of the test?
KPs are almost always hardware related. Any new RAM, USB or FireWIre devices you have added are suspect. So disconnect all added devices except the Apple keyboard and mouse, open the computer and make sure the RAM is fully seated, and then continue with the hardware test.
You'll need an ADC account to submit the bug report. Sign up for a free "online" developer account at connect.apple.com and then submit the bug by logging into bugreporter.apple.com with the UserID from ADC.
Everyone should get a free ADC account.
Originally posted by AquaMac
How do you do the long version of the test?
when you run the Hardware Test CD .. somewhere in the process it gives you an option for a "quick" test or a long/more involved test .... now... the long test does a real intense check of ram (both MB and Video) and therefore takes quite a while (20 miutes or more) if you have a lot of ram
Originally posted by KingOfSomewhereHot
when you run the Hardware Test CD .. somewhere in the process it gives you an option for a "quick" test or a long/more involved test .... now... the long test does a real intense check of ram (both MB and Video) and therefore takes quite a while (20 miutes or more) if you have a lot of ram
Thanks, I don't have an iMac but my friend just got one to replace there PC. I'm helping them lean the ways O' Mac. Thanks again.
i'll look into getting a Developer Account.
I did the Loooong Hardware check (took 57 mins, lots of RAM here).
I haven't added any new USB/FireWire devices. But i have bumped up the RAM. All the same none of this seems to have had a significant affect on the frequency of Kernal Panics. The only thing that has made them more common is OS 10.4
a friend of mine says he has seen similar reports on his eMac and he agrees that they happened more often under 10.4 and 10.4.1. He updated to 10.4.2 and hasn't seen one.
Im about to move up to 10.4.2 and i hope that's the last of it!